Surf Action is a Registered Charity Surf Action is a registered charity dedicated to supporting serving and former members of the armed forces and emergency services who suffer the effects of psychological and/or physical injuries as a result of their service or have difficulty readjusting to civilian life, and their families . Surf Action promotes good mental and physical health through strenuous physical activity, personal development, education and employment and empowers its service users to lead healthy, fulfilled and independent lives and to become valued and active members of their community. Central to this is the concept of ‘the blue gym’.
The ‘Blue Gym’ Concept The ‘blue gym’ is the concept of using our stunning natural ocean, coastal and beach environments as a resource for pursuing human health and wellbeing through surfing and other strenuous water based activities. Surf Action’s projects offer the opportunity to those who engage to experience the outdoor classroom environment and an exhilarating physical, emotional and social experience which can act as the foundation for improvement in health and wellbeing . This in turn can act as the catalyst which empowers them to make other positive changes in their family life, working life and community involvement. ™
The Recovery Model Surf Action works from one model only, the ‘ Joined-Up R ecovery’ Model. Recovery is defined as living well in spite of any difficulties we may have to face. We view recovery as a journey, a movement from the place a person is in to places that are better to be in, learning and making use of new skills and understandings along the way. The joined-up recovery model is a holistic, multi-dimensional integrated approach to improving ones mental health which takes into account an individual's needs, environment, social network, relationships, diet, physical and psychological wellbeing and so forth.
‘Joined - Up Recovery’ We recognise that recovery: • Does not necessarily mean getting back to where you were before • Happens in 'fits and starts' and, like life, has many ups and downs • Requires a well organised system of support from all involved • Requires services to embrace new and innovative ways of working. • Is profoundly influenced by people’s expectations and attitudes The development of the ‘Joined -Up Recovery’ model by the charity gives the service users and their families a bespoke pathway which they can access in order to achieve the best outcomes for themselves. It has been trialled and refined by Surf Action and qualitatively evaluated by Dr Nick Caddick of the ‘Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport’ at Loughborough University.
Surf Action is the only organisation providing evidence-based Ocean Therapy to support the mental health and wellbeing of the serving military, veterans and their families in the UK. The research at Surf Action has considerably added to the existing knowledge of the concept of Ocean Therapy as devised by Carly Rogers at the University of Southern California whilst she was working with veterans. She devised Ocean Therapy as an adaptive surfing program to assist individuals coping with psychological and physical injuries in accessing the ocean environment. It was taken up by the Jimmy Miller Foundation who now deliver it on behalf of the US Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton to both serving and veteran marines along with many other groups.
How it all works We see everything working but, in the words of a nameless academic: “Sure, it works in practice, but does it work in theory?” Here’s some science, philosophy and common sense to explain how and why it does.
Surf Action gets needs met When we look at any life that is working well, we see that certain needs are being met within it. Surf Action enables veterans to: • Build Connections: being involved counters isolation and builds a connection into a community • Develop new competencies and feel ‘stretched’: This can happen either through surfing, being involved as a volunteer or through one of the organised activities • Feel valued: Surf Action acts as a healthy peer group within which people are valued for their participation, contributions and recognised for the roles they fill • Give and receive positive attention: Often attention can be all about problems. Surf Action focuses in equal measure on the positives and on achievements and fun • Feel Secure: Surf Action provides a safe environment where veterans are respected and their particular experiences understood ............amongst other things
Lessens time spent alone Research shows that spending a lot of time alone with our thoughts if we are stressed, depressed or suffering from PTSD can have a detrimental effect. Being involved with Surf Action, whether on the beach, in the office, volunteering or meeting with other veterans for an informal chat or organised activity can lessen the amount of time spent alone worrying or feeling angry. Focusing on and engaging with present reality rather than past trauma or fears about the future can have very positive knock-on effects
Surf Action helps build self-esteem and self-confidence based on a real understanding Surf Action does not just offer tea and sympathy but also provides information about the science of PTSD and coping strategies that work in line with these understandings. Tea is offered too, of course, and sympathy, and coffee.... and very occasionally cake! When we see our relationships and friendships beginning to work, when we learn a new skill or are recognised as being competent in a certain area, self-esteem and self-confidence naturally follow. Rather than setting out to boost these things artificially, Surf Action provides opportunities for them to grow naturally and sustainably in the lives of all involved.
Surf Action helps to build hope It’s when the situation seems hopeless that things get really bad. Surf Action helps build hope that change is possible by finding a glimpse of the old you that has been long hidden by a mass of symptoms. It doesn’t matter whether that glimpse happens on a wave, in the office, during an organised activity or at home. It’s just such a glimpse and the hope that it brings that is often the beginning of a route through the difficulties and back to a life that works and functions for the individual
We offer Holistic Support Surf Action offers holistic support to veterans affected by PTSD as they build or put the finishing touches to a life that works for them. This might mean offering practical advice or support. It might mean encouraging them to take part in regular surf clinics so that they are able to distance themselves from current difficulties and thus think more clearly about a possible way through for them. It might mean signposting to other agencies or it might mean offering them the opportunity of doing therapeutic work. Above all, however, it means enabling and allowing those involved to recognise and use their own resources to move forward and build a life that works for them.
Surf Action Encourages Creative Interventions The process of creating art has long been recognised as being therapeutic. It is a way of expressing and communicating, of stretching ourselves and developing new skills and, for some, time spent in this way is a time when they can enter a state of ‘flow’ ; where the rest of the world and its attendant difficulties disappear for a while whilst they are completely focused on the task in hand. Alongside this, when we engage our rational brain as we try to work out how to translate thoughts into images on paper we gain ‘critical distance’ from whatever subject we are trying to capture or express. When we have difficult memories to deal with this can aid in their reprocessing.
Creative Interventions Surf Action is proud to work closely with the internationally respected Exeter based artist John Mc Dermott who is himself an ex-serviceman who suffers from PTSD. In 2009 he set up the social enterprise ‘Aftermath PTSD’ as a way to assist other trauma sufferers through remedial, existential art. This has resulted in 4 major exhibitions which have attracted national media attention. He has visited several Surf Action residential events to talk about art and give lessons in its use as a therapy to help relieve the symptoms of some stress related conditions.
Surf Action offers access to therapeutic support When we work with an up-to-date understanding of the physiology of PTSD it can be possible for people to move on from past traumatic memories so that they cease to cause huge emotional distress in the present. Relaxation techniques and specific therapeutic re-processing techniques can be accessed through Surf Action. If you have faced a traumatic experience you may simply feel emotionally numb to begin with and feelings of distress may not emerge immediately but sooner or later you are likely to develop emotional and physical reactions and experience changes in behaviour .
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